I Promise
by Miriflowers
Summary: When Enya was six, her world was lost to darkness. She ended up on the Destiny Islands for a time, but was taken back to Traverse Town to her parents. There, she made a deal with Maleficent for her mother's life that would change her own forever. Riku/OC
1. Prologue

**Surprise! I can write more than just HP fics! Aren't you shocked. Anyways, KH has always been an obsession of mine, along with some of its characters (Riku, Axel, and Demyx, for example), so I decided to write an OC fic, which usually don't work out too well for me, but this one writes like slowly melting butter; easily and deliciously. Maybe not the delicious part, but you get my point. :P Since I don't have a Nintendo, and therefore can't play BbS, CoM, etc., please excuse any errors you might see here. There might be a few holes in KH2 because I played my copy until it busted, but that's a ways off. (; Also, I borrow a bit from the KH manga, but not so much as to bother the people who didn't read it. I just reference it here and there. Reviews are always welcome (and loved!), so if you even like this a bit, or see something odd, or want to tell me how horrible I am and how much you wish my cat would stop eating your tuna sandwiches, please, do us all a favor and leave me something to remember it by. I wish that you enjoy, and, without further ado, the disclaimer!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own this glorious game that is dubbed by the all-holy name of Kingdom Hearts. Forgive me. T.T**

**Prologue**

I looked innocently up at the sky from my six-year-old perspective as my mother practically dragged me, running towards our only hope; the mountain fortress that had been built for our ancestors long ago by the gods, so the legend goes. She glanced behind her, looking at the hordes of heartless my father and his father before him were fighting off so that we could run. Suddenly, we reached the gate, and my mother began to open it, setting down her broadsword to wage a battle with the decrepit wheel. Letting out a war cry she pushed with all her might, and the gate fell with a thud.

"Father Ivan, Gregor, quickly!" she bellowed, grasping her sword once more and retaking my hand, pulling me along. We scaled the stairs to a battlement, where my mother grabbed a bow and quiver off of the wall, for, though old, they still held much power. Not breaking her stride, my mother stung her first arrow and released, letting it fly into the heads of one of the larger heartless, making it fade, a lone heart sinking upwards into the darkening sky.

"Get off of your asses and get moving!" my mother screamed to my father and grandfather, who finally began to retreat into the fortress' walls, closing the gate behind them, but not before a multitude of heartless had broken in.

"Enya," my mother called, making me look up, "take this dagger and go help hold the gate, you've been trained well enough for this."

My eyes began to water as I took the long dagger from her. It was about the right size to be a small sword for me.

"Darling," she said, speaking to me softly for one of the first times in her life, "you'll be safe with your father. And one day, when we get out of this, you'll grow up to be a beautiful young woman."

Now I was truly scared. She had never talked about me growing up to be anything, much less beautiful. Nevertheless, I scampered back down the stairwell to where my father and grandfather were fighting wildly as heartless continued to seep through the gaps in the gate. I took a deep breath and jumped into the midst of them, slashing and hacking away. I heard a great bellowing laugh from my left and saw father and grandfather back to back. I made my way over to them, taking down a few more heartless, then summoning a thunder spell. I had been training since I could walk. Quite literally, in fact.

"Looks like your girl's got quite a lot of spunk, even at a time like this, son," yelled my partially-deaf old warrior of a grandfather. My father merely nodded with a nervous smile as he bashed in the head of an oncoming Shadow with his staff. And so it went for around another hour, the heartless still unrelenting, slowly weakening us with each passing minute, until we heard an ear-splitting scream from the battlements.

"Svanhild," my father cried out, instantly summoning a far more powerful thunder spell than I could ever manage and making a mad dash through the severely-reduced ranks of heartless towards where my mother lay with two heartless that had scaled the fortress' wall, as I was told later. My father made short work of them, and began to carry my mother back down when darkness began to truly and completely shroud my home world.

"Enya! Take this sword," bellowed my grandfather, throwing me a giant broadsword in a sheath, bearing the name Cathal, "I won it from a hot-headed Irishman that reminded me a lot of me, and you remind me of him. It is right, this way."

"But, grandfather!" I called, plaintively as darkness began to overtake the courtyard as well.

"My dear," his whisper came from the darkness, "I wish for you to not make the same mistakes as I did. There are some things that are unchangeable..."

"Grandfather!" I called out in the darkness, but no one heard me. I was alone. I wondered vaguely as I fell into a deep slumber if this was what death felt like; easily slipping into a world of darkness without any pain...

~0o0~

I awoke just as I had fallen asleep; alone, but this time on a strange island. I was taken in by a kind villager who ran the ice cream parlor on the main street, and soon learned that I now in the Destiny Islands. Mere days after I had come to the island I met two boys; Sora and Riku. We became instant friends (after I had gotten them free ice cream) and began to make trouble all about the island. Time passed quickly, and I almost forgot about my previous life in the Northern Circle, my old world. But memories like that cannot easily forgotten.

A year passed, and, the night of a strange meteor shower, a small girl was tossed onto the same beach that I had woken up on. She was found and taken in by the mayor and her husband (who hadn't had any children of their own) after having seen how happy Mr. Jenkins, my guardian, was with a small, energetic child running about. In no time, the trio became a quartet, and our adventures grew even wilder, what with Sora trying to impress Kairi all the time, and Riku never wanting to be shown up. But, by the time Riku and I were nine (I was proud to say that I was two and a quarter months older than him, however), something changed, or shifted, or whatever. No matter how famously we had gotten along before, we now teased each other and picked fights whenever we chose. I won some of these petty fights, but I also lost some, much to my dismay and Riku's delight.

Life was seemingly perfect, and we all promised each other to never leave (until, that is, the day we all went to explore other worlds like mine or Kairi's). Then came the day when I finally found out where my parents were from a gummi ship trader who had landed in the Destiny Islands quite on accident. Heartbroken, I said goodbye promising to come back, or at least, never to forget.

When I reached home, however, nothing was as happy as I had thought my reunion with my parents would be; y mother was still bed-ridden and slowly dying from the injuries she had sustained during our fight at the fortress. My father, Cid, the man who had taken me back to Traverse Town, and a few others had been searching for a cure, and had checked all the worlds they knew except for one; Enchanted Dominion. I demanded to go, like the petulant child I was, and we prepared for the journey that would never take place.

~0o0~

I sat on the balcony of the hotel my parents and the others that I had barely met now lived in, breathing deeply, relishing the scent of the heavy mist that now shrouded the entire second district. I sat there, swinging my lanky legs, I had just had a growth spurt, thinking about my life back in the Destiny Islands. I wondered how Sora, Kairi, and Riku were doing. Especially Riku. I blushed at the thought. Somewhere, deep in the recesses of my ten-year-old mind, I knew that I had a little crush on him, but had instead decided to cover it up with teasing and fighting.

Footsteps broke my concentration and I hopped back onto the balcony, unsheathing Cathal, which I always used, despite the fact that it was too big for me to handle well, and crouching into a battle stance. A dark cackle that I would come to know well came through the mist that was now allowing my to see a figure in a long black dress with horns on the top of its, no..._her_...head.

"Put that thing away, child," her voice commanded, "it's far too big a plaything for a tiny girl like you."

I growled, not breaking my stance.

"Listen to me, or you will not hear the bargain I offer," she commanded once more, but this time I, grudgingly, obeyed.

"That's better," she sighed, stroking the head of the raven perched on her shoulder, "now, child, my name is Maleficent, and it has come to my attention that you, Enya, intend to venture to my world, the Enchanted Dominion, to find a cure for your poor, dying mother. Is that correct?"

I nodded slowly, cautiously wondering how she knew everything.

"What would you say if I could offer you the cure...right now?" Maleficent said, instantly gaining my attention as she summoned a small, leather-bound book out of thin air.

"Yes," I answered, my voice cracking.

"In return, you just have to keep me company in my old age and maybe run a few little errands. But that's still a little ways off. What do you think, my dear?" she asked, her words sinking into me and holding me captive more than any ropes or chains ever could. Still, something wasn't right...

_"I wish for you not to make the same mistakes as I did."_

Grandfather?

"I agree to your terms," I said, more assuredly this time. It didn't matter if I was giving up my life for hers. What I didn't know at the time, was that it was exactly what I was doing.

_"There are some things that are unchangeable..."_

"Just as a little sign of our bargain, wear this around your neck," she said in her sickeningly sweet voice while holding out what looked to be a deathly heavy iron locket on a necklace of chains. She also handed me the book, and that was what really did it. Book now in hand, I pulled the necklace over my head, instantly feeling it pulling me closer to the ground. Then, an insanely painful feeling began to stir in my chest. I screamed as I saw my own heart float out of my body and into the locket, their sizes matching perfectly. I felt my mind go blank as I saw the locket shift down into a simple pendant that looked like the heartless insignia.

When I looked up, Maleficent was gone, leaving me with the mist once more. Now, if only I could remember what I had been thinking about...

**Whoosh. *wipes sweat off brow* Fun can be challenging with terribly plot-filled things like prologues. There wasn't much humor, but I hope you liked it anyways. (; I wrote it for you, tehe. I'm awfully sorry that I didn't go into Enya's time with Riku, Sora, and Kairi, much, but I promise that there will be flashbacks in the future, which was part of the reason I did what I did. You see, I don't think anyone wants to be reading pretty much the same thing twice. Which is why I don't go over things from one person's POV, then another's. Simple, sensible sense, in my opinion. What's yours? (= I'd dearly love to know.**

**-Miriflowers**


	2. Chapter 1

**So, here we are again. I decided to update again the next day, because...well, to be honest, I have a good head start and I want to get a lot of this story done before school starts, since I'll most likely be veeeeery, very busy. Not to worry, though. An elephant never forgets. ;) I want to thank the very first reviewer, TheEternalAlchemistoO, and any others in the future for telling me, a poor writer in need of approval. T.T I get so worried sometimes... Anywhoodle, please enjoy the actual first chapter. I LOVE YOU ALL!**

**Chapter 1**

As the bright sun rose in the sky over Traverse Town, I sat blearily on the roof of the gizmo shop in the Second District, having had yet another sleepless night. I was going to kill myself this way, I reasoned, but somehow, I couldn't bring myself to care anymore. It had been five and a half months since Maleficent had finally called in my half of the bargain completely. Sure, before she had asked me to do jobs here and there before she was finally "old enough", but nothing like leaving my family and everyone I love for a life of nothing but darkness, misery, and seeminglly endless jobs that took me to all corners of the worlds. Before long, I wondered if I would even have the will to get out of bed. I had nothing to live for now. No one I could see without inflicting pain on all invlolved. That was why I treasured these stolen moments after jobs to Traverse Town, watching longingly through the windows of the hotel at the life I once had for too stort a time.

"Leon," called my mother from inside the hotel, drawing my attention, "you need to run down to Cid and bring him his lunch, he forgot it again."

I saw Leon silently take the bag from my mother, nodding, then sweeping out of the doorway. I grinned at his typical silent and brooding nature, then felt a pang in my chest. I would never talk to Leon again. That is, unless Maleficent required me to defeat him. I slouched over, head in hands. The worst part was, I couldn't even kill myself to get away. Because my life wouldn't be the only one taken, Maleficent made sure of that. I looked up and jumped. While I had been having my moment of depression, Leon had gotten attacked, having tripped while finishing off some simple Blue Rhapsodies. He stood there in his lazy battlestance, gunblade hanging loosely in his hand. Three measly Yellow Operas weren't going to slow him down a bit. Suddenly, there weren't just three. There were five... six... eight... eleven... seventeen? There were too many to count now, and it wasn't just Yellow Operas. Large Bodies, Soldiers, Shadows, Red Nocturnes, and Blue Rhapsodies, too. There must have been around a hundred heartless down there, more than I had ever seen in this district before.

Leon wouldn't be able to handle them all by himself, and there would be no help coming from the hotel; they were all asleep. I made my decision, pulling up my cloak's hood, completely shading my face. I jumped to the ground about ten feet from Leon to see him look at me in surprise. I nodded at him, willing to see me as an ally, not a foe. Slowly, he nodded back. And then the first heartless attacked. I quickly drew my broadsword, Cathal, from its place on my back, then began to run towards Leon, slicing through heartless as I went. I was about four feet from him now, and gaining, but suddenly something threw itself in my way, I gazed up to see a Large body beginning one of its favorite attacks. I ducked under its swinging arms, rolling behind it, closer to Leon, then stabbed it expertly in its back. Three feet...two feet...one foot left... We now stood back to back, facing the crowd of heartless around us for a moment, assesing the situation while catching our breaths. Then I broke the stalemate and lept forward, slicing through a soldier in front of me, then working on a few shadows. I grinned. This seemed just like old times when we used to do this for fun.

Suddenly, after having been distracted by taking down the last Large body, one of the last Red Nocturnes blasted me in the back with a fireball, making me cry out and fall to my knees. Leon looked back at me, surprised, but I staggered to my feet, taking down the perpetrator and turning back to see only a few lingering shadows and a soldier. I shrugged, ignoring the pain in my shoulder, and decided to use one of my best take-down moves. I let out a battle cry, shaking with pain as I lept into the air. Then I began to fall, darkness beginning to swirl across Cathal as I neared the ground. It all came to an end when my sword embedded itself into the ground, blasting the sorry Shadows into nothingness and the last Soldier into the nearest park bench. Hearts flew up into the air and I turned to see Leon, who amazingly still had Cid's lunch, looking at me appraisingly as I resheathed Cathal. Of course the diva would finish before me. He preffered it that way. I shook my head and began to walk towards the First District, where I would find my gummi ship

"Wait," Leon said commadingly, making me stop in my tracks like a kid caught with its hand in the cookie jar, "who are you? Why did you help me?"

I snorted. What a lady charmer. He sure knew how to respond to someone saving his sorry ass.

"A simple 'Thank you, mysterious stranger' would be fine, too, but sure! Interrogate the innocent idiot that tried to help you," I said, rolling my eyes. Leon would've smacked me if he'd seen; he'd always hated the way I rolled my eyes at him for saying stupid things. This was the one reason that I liked my cape. Other than...you know...everything else cool that a cape could do. I should've made a list.

"Enya?" Leon gasped, his face holding the most surprise I'd ever seen on a regular basis. My eyes widened. I had forgotten to lower my voice.

"Oh, shit," I said, turning and bolting for the First District, not even bothering with the stairs and flipping up onto the walk way, my hood falling down. I turned back to see Leon following me, but not as fast as he could. His eyes widened.

"It_ is_ you!" he gasped as I pushed open the doors impatiently while he began to bolt after me, poor Cid's lunch cast to the side like an unwanted puppy, "Come back here! Why are you running? Where have you been?"

I shook my head, slipping through the door and bolting past the back of the Accessory Shop, and, surprisingly, Cid. I leaped into the small alleyway between the Item Shop and Accessory Shop, thanking my parents for my long legs.

"Enya?" he whispered, in shock, "Wait, why are you running?"

He began to chase after me, too. I shook my head, jumping down from the side of the Item Shop and making a mad dash towards the World Gate. However, something stopped me in my tracks. Feet away, standing unintentionally between me and escape to the hell that I was bound to, was my former friend and former...something else. Not because I hated them, but because I could never be around any of them again. I stayed hidden and away to ease the pain. And I had just made the biggest slip up of the century because, unlike me, Hansel had moved on. And, also unlike me, he didn't have to watch me hold hands with someone else, sharing a single ice cream cone, bumping heads lovingly.

Hansel didn't notice me at first, but kept giggling at something he had said along with the girl I knew to be from the Third District, a girl that I had known for a long time, now. My other childhood friend, Chantal, whose mane of red hair and stormy gray eyes now shimmered in the darkness with happiness. I vaguely heard Cid and Leon catch up to me and come to a halt feet away, but it didn't register. All I knew in that moment was pain. It wasn't piercing pain, or blinding pain, or painfully painful pain like in the novels, though. It ached. It ached through my whole body, numbing my brain and rotting away at my insides.

Just then, Hansel looked up. Shock and guilt fought for dominance on his face, while I kept mine purposefully blank. Chantal was confused for a moment, having not noticed me, then looked around, guilt clearly visible.

"Enya," she gasped, finding no other words. Then, strangely, I felt nothing. It was always going to be this way, I'd figured. Hansel and I would have probably never been anything, anyways. I summoned a dark portal with my right hand, deciding to come back for the gummi ship later. I pulled up my hood and began to back up into the darkness, feeling the pain slip away faster and faster as my friends called out for me to stop, running forward to try to force me out of the portal, but it was too late. I was already gone.

~0o0~

I gave a cry of anguish, puching the cold, brick wall, only to have my hand go through. I clutched my fist, which was swathed in darkness, trying to shake it off. I never wanted these powers. All I'd ever wanted was to live a normal life without any more disruptions. But now it was all gone...everything I'd ever wanted... I heard dark cackles from a distant hallway, and instantly knew that Maleficent had seen everything. In fact, it had probably been her who had sent the heartless in the first place. I felt anger rip through me like a knife, and I began to barrel towards the source of the sound, unsheathing Cathal as I went.

"Maleficent," I yelled at the top for my lungs, making it my bloodthirsty battle cry. She would pay. She would pay for all of the pain. She would pay for Hansel. She would pay for my parents. She would pay for Yuffie, and Leon, and Cid. She would pay for Aerith, and Merlin, and even Chantal. She would pay for taking everything away from me and making me live, no, _strive_ for the same life that now held nothing for me.

However, when I finally reached Maleficent, the very thing that was chaining me to this life with iron shackles reverted to its original form, dragging me to the floor. I clutched at the rusty iron locket that hung around my neck, struggling under its weight. I glared up at Maleficent from under the mop of hair that now hung in my eyes. She only laughed once more, turning from me and walking away. That really pushed me over the edge, and, ignoring the pain from my neck, struggling to get up, I began to run after her, bringing up my sword to crash down on her head, only to have it bounce of a pearly green shield.

Maleficent whipped around, eyes burning with contempt while I panted from my knees, having fallen down from all the effort.

"You fool," she hissed, eyes burning brighter than before, "I save your mother from the very maw of doom, I teach you magic, I give you strength, I provide you with shelter, I care for you, and you still have the nerve to rise up against me?"

"You took everything from me!" I screamed back, trying my utmost to swing Cathal forward once more. Suddenly, thousands of small ice crystals appeared out of nowhere and all shot themselves at me. My screams of pain echoed throughout the castle. I lay hunched over my midsection, clutching it with pain as darkness seeped from the small keyhole in my iron locket, patching up my wounds, and making my emotions ebb away. My eyes became blank, and my soul emptied, the locket shrinking back into its smaller size. I stood up, re-sheathing Cathal.

"_That's_ my girl," she hissed, "Now, I have instructions for your next little errand. I think you'll like this one..."

**Betcha ten virtually transmitted dollars what it's gonna be. Give ya a hint, it starts with "Ri"... Anyways, before I go and post the next chapter, I was wondering if I could get one or two more reviews, perhaps? O.O It would make my millennia, but it's not required...**

**-Miriflowers**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hello again! For for those of you who are wondering, this will not be a daily-updated story. I want to have a chance to properly write all of my chapters, and updating daily not only rushes me, but severely affects the plot, etc. As usual, if you could spare any time at all to leave me a review, I would be very greatful. I just realized that I forgot my disclaimer in the last chapter! :\ Oopsies! Hope they don't sue me...**

**Disclaimer: Me is not owning KH. T.T**

**Chapter 2**

My eyes were dull as I surveyed the Rising Falls. This wasn't even a real mission, I just had to find some kid who was wandering around getting beaten up by Dark Balls, Defenders, and such. I sighed. Problem was, he wasn't here like Maleficent had said he would be. I hopped back on the flying pedestal-like thing and rode back to the main castle. Next, I decided to check the waterways. Nothing. But maybe... An idea having struck me, I made my way to the dungeon, slowly opening the rusty, barred door. I peeked inside to see a boy around my age with silvery hair finish off a Dark Ball with the bat-wing sword I had stashed down here a while ago, just in case. He was welcome to it; Cathal was all I'd ever need. Leaning against the door I had just propped open, I began to clap slowly, making the boy whip around, not easing out of his battle stance at all.

"Impressive," I said, voice laced with faux enthusiasm; I wasn't in the mood for anymore diva battle boys like Leon, who he reminded me of, "no less that fifteen heartless, I see."

"Who are you? Have you been standing here the whole time?" he asked suspiciously. Something about the boy tugged at some memory in the back of my head, but I shrugged it off. Because now, all of my previous dullness had worn off; I was genuinely interested.

"Nope," I said, actually cheery, this time. I hopped up onto the altar-like table with candles on it, swinging my legs and looking at him playfully. Curiously, he tilted his head, seeming genuinely interested in me, and I noticed that he stepped out of his battle stance.

"Then how did you know how many I killed? And you still haven't answered my first question yet," he said, walking up to the altar and standing in front of me, blocking escape unintentionally. I noticed he was a couple of inches taller than me, which made me pout. I liked being taller than most people, but this guy had me beat.

"I was the one who locked those little critters down here in the first place because they kept on bugging me when I was on patrol," I sighed, stifling a yawn. My lack of sleep was getting to me, now, and everything was slightly blurry. I frowned. I might not have been able to beat the guy in this shape, so I decided I would have to play nice.

"Patrol? Do you live here? Are you ever going to tell me who you are?" he asked, now looking a little confused and peeved. Drats. I thought that I could avoid the question forever, but it was making the boy awfully irritable.

"Relax," I drawled, snapping my fingers and lighting the torches around the room, making it easier to see him. Better. Now I wasn't as sleepy.

"Why should I relax?" he said, bitterly, "I've just lost my world to darkness, and I don't know where either of my two best friends are. Does that seem very relaxing to you?"

My eyes flashed with anger, and I glared at him. He was beginning to get on my nerves.

"Listen up, bud," I said, matching his tone, except with extra bitter sauce, "if you wanna complain about your life, start talking to someone who has control over whatever happens in theirs. 'Cuz, as far as I can tell, you actually have a chance of getting your best friends and your world back. I don't have that luxury. Now, I suggest you follow me, unless you want to stay down here an rot in this dank little slice of heaven and wait for the heartless to come eat you. I didn't lock them _all_ up, you know."

The boy's eyes widened, and I could swear there was a flash of guilt in them before they switched back to their usual peevy-ness. I noticed how blue they were, and I felt that tugging sensation again. For some reason, I'd always liked blue eyes on boys... The boy huffed, breaking me out of my reverie.

"Can I at least get your name?" he asked, defeatedly, "I'd like to know who could be luring me off to my doom beforehand."

"Enya," I said, smiling at him. I felt a little warm while he stared at me intently, making one of my patented awkward faces. Even that didn't work...

"Enya..." the boy trailed off again for a moment, then gradually came back to earth. His eyes locked back onto mine and I felt a shiver go down my spine. There was something odd and determined in them. I coughed awkwardly.

"W-what's yours, then?" I asked, my voice cracking. Suddenly, he grinned, as though he'd remembered something.

"Riku," he said, confidently, "but, Enya...I do believe we've already met."

My eyes widened. It was possible, considering some of my memories were lost to me when the locket swallowed up my heart. But I wasn't about to let Riku know. I shrugged, hopping off the altar and walking past him towards the door.

"C'mon, we can talk later, but first you've got to 'come back to see Maleficent'," I said, miming her extremely dulcet tones and waving my arms around in an overacted imitation. I heard confused chuckles from behind me, and turned around at the door to see Riku shaking his head.

"You really haven't changed a bit," he said, then stepped forwards, pushing the door closed behind him. He turned and smiled.

"Shall we?" he said, crooking his elbow out for me to take it. My eyes widened, and I blushed slightly, taking his arm slowly. We left the dungeons echoing uncharacteristically with the sound of Riku's laughter.

~0o0~

I blew at the voluminous, dark brown hair bouncing in my eyes irritably. That boy...Riku...he confused me. Even though he was a very serious person, he seemed to get a kick out of teasing me. He also never stopped bothering me to see if I remembered him, too. I always dodged his questions until he finally just ended up labeling me as a "forgetful moose." I shit you not. When I tried to point this out to him, he simply took it as even more of a confirmation, waving my questions away. By that time we had reached Maleficent's Throne Room-like thing, and I was forced to wait outside.

It had only been around an hour since he'd gone in, but it still felt like centuries, so I decided to go grab a sandwich from the enchanted kitchen that had everything you could ever want (literally), courtesy of yours truly, instead of waiting around like some lost puppy. It was one of the few things that I had enjoyed doing under Maleficent's direction. Then again, I reasoned, turning corners and sweeping down hallways in my Cloak of All Things Good and Epic, anything to do with sandwiches was good. Especially ones with swiss cheese and fresh lettuce and-

_Thump!_

I whipped around, drawing Cathal fluidly while instantly crouching into a battle stance. Instead of some masked murderer come to kill me, or, less serverely, some heartless, I saw Riku, on his knees after having tripped over the trick step at the end of my special little hallway. I laughed at him and decided that the newbie might actually need light to see. Seasoned inhabitants of the castle had strangely acurate night vision. I snapped my fingers and torches all along the hallway sprang to life as I re-sheathed Cathal and helped Riku up. He grinned nervously back at me, and we fell into step beside each other.

"That was quick," I noted, scrutinizing his carefully controlled expression, "Maleficent usually enjoys hearing herself talk a bit more than that."

Riku snorted darkly, and I could tell something was eating him. But, as I guessed right now, whatever it was that was eating him wouldn't like the taste. Too emotional and salty, kinda like a bi-polar pretzel.

"Hey," I said, hopping in front of him and walking backwards, synchronizing our steps together, "lighten up. Did she say anything about your friends or your world?"

Riku shook his head darkly, continuing on without missing a step. I hopped back into my place, pouting, and we continued our silent march down the corridors of our own little personal hell. At least, I _assumed_ Riku didn't like it here, and was only staying for convenience. But what if he liked darkness, and wasn't just stuck in it like me? Then, who would I talk to? Would I be alone again? Would he even like talking to me? Had we really met already? What was our connection? Why were his eyes _so blue_? ...Why had I just thought that?

My mind was fighting a loosing battle trying to figure out everything, or at least put it in order, and I was getting a massive headache concentrating. I even went cross-eyed for a few seconds. Still, the Walk of Silence and Doom continued on its weary way.

"Where are we going, anyways? Maleficent said that you knew the way to where I would be staying..." Riku stopped when I didn't answer, as I was too engrossed in all of the questions raging around in my head.

"Hello? Enya?" he asked, waited, then tried again, "Yo, cloak girl!"

I was startled out of my reverie, backing up against the wall with my arms flung wide, eyes wide with surprise. My head whipped around, looking for the said "cloak girl." It was probably Maleficent. Yeah, who else wore a cloa-... I turned back to Riku, unamused. It didn't bother him, though, because he was too busy laughing at me. I rolled my eyes and continued walking, not waiting for him to get over himself.

"Wait! You still haven't answered my question!" Riku called, running to catch up while still laughing. I turned back, surprised, but never stopped my fast pace. I really wanted that damn sandwich.

"I already told you what my name was a long time ago, nitwit," I said, rolling my eyes for the second time in a minute. It was really getting to be a habit again...Leon wouldn't be pleased. My expression must've clouded over because Riku, who'd just reached me looked concerned.

"No, the one about where we're going, and are you alright?" he asked, placing a hand on my left shoulder. I flinched back, clutching it in pain. Riku backed up, apologizing immediately. Apparently the darkness from the locket hadn't completely fixed my burns.

"You're not scared of me...you're injured, right?" Riku asked, something indeciferable hiding behind his cool mask. I nodded, not letting the pain make its way into my expression.

"Here, can you stand?" he asked, not waiting for an answer, "Let's take off your cloak to assess the damage," he said, calmly unlacing the crossed ties in the front, then helping me shrug the cloak off gently. A light blush tinted my cheeks, I'm sure; I wasn't used to people being this close anymore.

"By the way, how did your cloak survive whatever burned you?" he asked, beginning to look at my shoulder, gently brushing some of the charred remains of that side of my T-shirt off.

"Maleficent made it for me out of darkness itself. She enchanted it so that it would stop dark attacks from getting through, but since it's not really tangible, everything else passes through," I recited, wincing a bit. Riku nodded (after quickly apologizing), but by now he was completely absorbed in my shoulder.

"Looks like you've got a slight burn on your shoulder, but a little salve and you should be fine," he said, calmly taking charge of the situation. I giggled slightly at the thought while I got crush butterflies. I mentally cursed myself out; I hated hormones.

"What?" he asked, confused as he looked up from his concentration on my shoulder. I smiled and shook my head, giving him directions to my other awesome, pimped-out haven; the cupboard I kept stocked full of potions, ingredients, bandages, and all sorts of small weapons.

I reached up to take the key to the said cupboard off my neck, having to angle my head just right to get it off. When I gave the key to Riku, I saw his worried expression.

"I'll be fine, Riku," I sighed, shaking my head. He nodded solemnly, a determined look in his eyes, and jogged off, muttering my directions to himself under his breath. I smiled and lay my head back, quickly falling into a sort of daze-like dream world.

**WOOT! This is kinda fluffy... But we'll live. Right? Because it's not like every day I stuff my fics full with this much plot. And, believe me, there's a shitload of plot to be had. And a lot of shockers at the end. Mwahahahaha. How I love them so. Anyways, how'd you like it? You'd better have, since I'm not gonna update for another few days. I'm using up precious, long chapters quickly, so I need more time to write. Until then!**

**-Miriflowers**


	4. Chapter 3

**So; here it is. Another chapter. No review for the last one, though, eh? T.T Oh well; I'll live. Probably. Meh. I rather like this chapter, despite the fluff. I promise that lots of gritty, lovely plot is coming soon. But let's give the little ones some time to themselves, shall we? (;**

**Disclaimer: If I owned KH, you wouldn't be able to wrench the controller away from my cold, dead fingers. I would come back as a ghost to haunt people playing it, just to see my creation at work. But ghosts aren't real. So where does that put us, you ask. It puts me without KH to cry myself to sleep. Thanks for asking.**

**Chapter 3**

"Why?" a heartbroken little boy of about ten asked what looked to be a version of myself at that age (I looked very different from ten to fifteen; my hair had gotten darker, my skin paler, and my face had lost some of its roundness, but some would never go away; it was just my face shape), "Why do you have to leave _now_? We haven't even been exploring in other worlds, yet, like we promised!"

I realized that they were on a picturesque beach at sunset, and I myself was looking from a nearby rock that I was perched on. I cocked my head. The other boy...he looked remarkably like...my eyes bulged out of their sockets, and I had to fight to keep my seat on the boulder.

"I know," Mini Me said mournfully, tears beginning to run down her cheeks, "but I've finally found a way to my parents, Riku, and I have to go with Cid. I never really belonged in this world, anyways."

Both of the children were crying, but Riku was still wiping his away violently, trying to keep a straight face. I was baffled. No, not about the fact that I had worn my hair back in a braid (I never remembered that one at all), but about how close we looked. It was almost like...like...Riku was my first love. What happened next only served to cement this niggling suspicion further.

"Here," Mini Me said, untying the small blue ribbon keeping her atrocious braid together, then tying it around Riku's wrist, "just never forget me what happens, no matter what, okay? We can always have our memories."

Riku nodded grudgingly, then, strangely, they both spit on their palms and shook on it. I cringed. Now I knew where my habit of sealing deals with spit came from. And how utterly revolting it looked from far away. Suddenly, without warning, Mini Me leaned up (because even little Riku was taller than I was, curse him) and pecked him on the cheek, causing them both to go flaming red. I couldn't help it and giggled at them. It was so friggin' cute!

Then, Riku leaned down and hugged Mini Me (after sneaking in a quick peck on her lips, the sly dog), and they stood like that for a while, savoring each other's company.

"Don't forget to say goodbye to Sora and Kairi for me," Mini Me said, after finally pulling away. They were both conspicuously wiping their eyes and looking anywhere but each other.

"But you already-" he began, but she cut him off. I giggled again. Even years ago I was as commanding and petulant as ever.

"And give Sora hell for me, y'hear? Especially about Kairi," she added, almost as an afterthought, "I think he has a crush on her."

They both snickered and gossiped over that like old women with far too many cats while I wondered for the first time who Sora and Kairi were... Before, I had just assumed they were just okay friends of mine, from what Mini Me had just said, but now they seemed much closer. Then, all too soon, the calming, if a little sorrowful, scene slipped away, leaving me with only more questions.

~0o0~

"Enya...Enya, wake up, we need to treat your burn," Riku called, waking me from my doze. I looked up blearily, making a disgusted face as the light hit me. I decided that the cruel Riku who was waking me from the wonderful dream couldn't be the same one after all, and dismissed that whole thing as folly. He rolled his eyes as I scooted to the side so that he could actually bandage my shoulder. I didn't have to take off any clothes (thank goodness) because my shirt was already just a mass of flaky remnants stuck to the wound. But that little luxury didn't come without a cost either.

"Yow!" I bellowed as Riku (apologizing calmly) peeled off one of the last scraps of what was left of my T-shirt. I would have to get a new one, since this one stopped an inch above my belly button, anyways. Curiously, I assessed the rest of my clothes. Obviously, my shirt was out of commision, but, apparently, so were my cargo pants. On top of the day-to-day torture I put them through (sliding down the banisters, catching them on suits of armor, that kind of stuff), they looked like they'd finally reached their limit when Maleficent had stuffed me so full of ice shards I could've been mistaked for a popsicle. They were truly sorry excuses for pants. But, hey! At least my cargo boots had survived everything!

"I have to go back," I groaned, thinking of Traverse Town with dread. I would have to sneak into my own house, no less.

"Back where?" Riku asked, fixing a bandage in place with some medical tape. I shrugged back on my cloak, only feeling only a slight wince of pain in doing so. _Oh, he was good..._

"Traverse Town," I said flippantly, helping him gather up the supplies so that we could return them, "my clothes are out of commision and I needed to get my stuff from my house, anyways."

"You live in Traverse Town? Oh, yeah, that's where you said your parents were," Riku said as though remembering something from a long time ago. I gave him an odd look.

"I never told you about my parents," I said, curiosity making me glance at his face to see it fall. He stopped and made me follow by grabbing my wrist, not unkindly, but with a sort of urgency.

"You really don't remember anything, do you?" he asked, pain evident behind his eyes, then shook his head, "Even after you were the one that made me promise!"

Riku barked out a harsh laugh that held no joy, making me jump. He seemed different from the calm, composed Riku from a minute ago. Suddenly, all of my suspicions were confirmed when he backed me up against the wall in a flash, seeming to have made a decision, still holding my wrist and slamming his forearm into the wall right above my head. I stopped breathing as I looked into his normally calm blue eyes, which were now flinty and had some strange determination behind them.

"Maybe I could make you remember..." he whisper hopefully, beginning to lean in. My eyes widened for an instant, cheeks flaming. He abruptly pulled away, letting go of my wrist and letting his other arm fall off the wall. He stormed to the other side of the hallway, paused, then hit the wall in frustration with a cry of anguish, trying to erase his pain. It was around then that I must have remembered how to breathe correctly and came up behind him, placing one of my hands on his shoulder.

"You know, if it's any consolation, which I know it's not," I said, softly, "it wasn't my fault that I forgot."

Riku looked up at me, his eyes slightly red, and his expression broke my heart even when I was wearing it around my neck.

"When Maleficent placed the curse on me in exchange for my mother's life, a lot of the memories closest to my heart were placed within the locket, along with my heart," I said, trying to explain it best I could. Instead I only got a confused look.

"Here, we can leave the medical supplies here for a while," I sighed, taking his hand and beginning to pull him towards the kitchen, stomach still rumbling from when I had originally set out for my sandwich long ago, "long stories go well with provalone."

~0o0~

Riku seemed a lot calmer after he was fed, I noticed while stifling a smirk behind my own sandwich. Or maybe it was just a lot to process for him. While I had been making the delectable beauties we were now consuming, I had told him the story. The whole story, or, at least, what I remembered of it. And he had told me his. They were both very good stories to go along with very good sandwiches. I grinned as I bit into an olive, eyes drooping as my chewing slowed.

I felt my gaze rake over Riku, marveling at how much he had grown up since my probably-fake dream. Then I wondered if it really was fake, since it all seemed to fit what little information he had let slip. I wondered if I should ask him, when my gaze finally fell on his wrist. I choked on my lovely sandwich, disgracing its beauty. Coughing, I reached for my glass of water, waving off Riku's concerned questions. When I finally caught my breath, I took my chance.

"How'd you get that ribbon, buster?" I asked, desperately hoping that I hadn't really had a crush on Riku; I had enough on my plate with Hansel and Chantal. Riku's eyes widened, not even glancing at it, something in his expression reming me of an excited two-year-old.

"You remember it?" Riku demanded, almost hopping across the table. My eyes widened and my patented awkward expression was probably on my face by now, not knowing where this would take me.

"Um, well, you see, when I passed out, I had this dream," I said, blushing while looking down at my half-eaten masterpeice while tugging at my colar, "and there were a couple of kids that looked like you and me, and it sounded kinda like what I know must've happened, except you were there, and I gave you that ribbon, and-...ahem, well, then I woke up."

Riku nodded, sitting calmly once more, his expression returning to the stone it was sure to be wrought from.

"At least you're beginning to remember again. Maybe the locket is beginning to give you your memories back, and if that's true, you're probably getting some of your heart back, too," he said reasonably, but I could practically feel the waves of excitement coming from him. My expression darkened and I scowled.

"That can't be happening; it can only be opened if Maleficent allows, or you have the key," I glowered, "besides, I don't know what will happen if I ever do get it back. I can't go back home ever again. I don't want to hurt them like this."

My hands clenched themselves into fists, my vision going red. I was a monster, now, I decided. I wasn't good enough to be human.

"Enya," Riku said, placing a hand over one of my fists, "you will go home, someday, after we get the curse, or whatever it is, off of you. No matter what pain you caused, you'll keep on causing more if you stay away."

I looked up at him, and felt that something broken inside of me was now slowly weaving itself back together. Riku seemed to hesitate to say something, then looked as though he finally made his decision.

"Do you remember anything about us? Or Sora and Kairi?" he asked softly, his thumb beginning to trace circles on my hand absent-mindedly. I tried not to blush; I had already exceeded my limit for the day.

"Only what I saw in the dream, and...sometimes I find myself remembering little things about what we used to do, like spit swears and our duels," I said, grinning. And it was the truth. I remembered shoving ice cream into some kid's face when I was younger, and some little niggling voice in the back of my head told me that it was Sora. I also remembered teasing Sora and Kairi one day on the beach after they had held hands for a few minutes. Now, Riku's face still held that odd acceptance, as though remembering some was good, but there was something he wanted me to remember, more than anything. And I had a pretty good guess what, but I wasn't letting slip a word about that. Something told me that if I did, even if I really didn't remember, Riku would beg and plead for me to remember more about it. I shook off these thoughts.

"Well," I said, looking down at my mostly-eaten sandwich, "I think it's time to show you to your room so that you can get some sleep, cowboy."

"Alright, cowgirl," he said, picking up our plates and placing them where I indicated, watching them disappear.

"Nice touch," he observed, turning back to me, smiling. I suddenly felt absurdly proud of my small magic, face flushing with pride. I probably stood up a little straighter, too.

"Why thank you, kind sir," I said, then grabbed his hand and tugged him along to where I knew Malieficent wanted guests to be quartered.

"It's so easy to get lost here!" he marveled as we passed our third gargoyle and took a left at a spiral staircase. I nodded, not pausing until we finally reached his room, where I threw open the door with a simple, yet effective, "Tada!" Riku smiled as he took in the dark decor, rolling his eyes.

"G'night, Riku," I said, smiling while clasping my hands behind my back and stepping away, my eyes still fixed on him. He smiled, waving me goodbye as I rounded the corner. Instantly, I pressed my back up against the wall and listened to see that he got in safely. Why was I so worried? I didn't have time to deal with stupid feelings as I made my way back to where we'd left the bandages (Riku had returned the key to me, finally), already feeling the day's events hand heavy on my heart, shutting down my brain, and making me move more slowly than usual. I didn't care, because I now had someone other than Maleficent around to talk to. And, better yet, I thought while smiling for what seemed the millionth time that day, it was Riku.

**In case you haven't noticed, I freakin' ADORE sandwiches. I hope you liked the line about provalone, 'cuz I was INSPIRED, I tell you. By the gods of cheese, no less. Do you like sandwiches? Even if you review just to tell me that, I would be okay with it. Maybe it would be a bit more interesting if you would put which kind, though, 'cuz there's a lot of sandwiches out there. *drools* Have fun with that mental image. SANDWICHES ARE ALL AROUND US. .**

**-Miriflowers**


	5. Chapter 4

**Heh. I thought that I was gonna be updating this more often. But I had a camp to go to...SILLY ME. HAHAHAHA. HAHA. HA. Anyways, this story is still being written, and it feels harder and harder to pay attention to it, but don't worry. It's like my little bird, which I am incubating through words. You, the people who are reading at this VERY MOMENT, are the nest. Please make my little bird's journey from duckling to swan go smoothly. It would warm my heart. :) AND THAT WAS MY SIMILE FOR THE DAY. (Use with caution.) I will love you if you review. I will love you forever. At least drop me a line to make sure I know you're reading? T.T**

**Disclaimer: Though I don't own KH, I know fans who wish they did. Isn't that good enough?**

**Chapter 4**

The terrible thing was that I didn't actually go back to Traverse Town the next day, which made me even more thankful for my cloak than ever before, as Maleficent decided to make me offer the Cheshire Cat a chance to be part of her little tea party of benevolence and joy. I was almost overjoyed when instead of accepting, like she'd expected, the the cat had simply told me go back to my evil mistress and have fun in the little dark sandbox. After that, I decided not to bother and take a look around for Sora and Kairi, but to no avail. Then, the next day, I was to deliver a message to Jafar in Agrabah as she was "far too busy at the moment to bother herself." There, I was kicked out by Jafar directly after the message was delivered, even before I had a chance to search for my lost (and only partially remembered) friends. It was only on the third day that I finally got a chance to visit, and even then...

"Take Riku with you, he's getting on my nerves by moping about and bugging me about that pitiful keyblade-wielder and that princess of heart they both seem so worried about. I'm tired of having to tell him that his friend's got the king's lackeys instead of him," Maleficent commanded blandly as she walked past me, barely even sparing me a glance. I scowled, wondering at her ability to blow things out of proportion and generally muck things up, and went to go wake Riku up. It was seven o' clock in the morning, and he usually didn't wake up until nine. I couldn't blame him; what did he really have to do, other than Maleficent had just accused him of? I knocked softly on his door.

"Riku," I called softly, "wake up, you hobo! C'mon, Maleficent wants you to get out of the castle."

No response. I huffed angrily and decided to resort to slightly more devious tactics. I opened the door, pausing while taking in my surroundings. I hadn't explored this room yet, but it seemed like it had a small closet, a bed, a table in the middle of the room with a lone candlestick residing at its center, and a be-curtained window about two yards from where the bed was shoved into one corner. On the bed lay a small, curled up figure swathed in blankets. Only a mop of shaggy, silver hair was visible. I quickly crossed the room without a sound, flinging open the curtains and beginning to jump on the bed.

"The village is on fire! The village is on fire! Help us, Riku, we're all going to die!" I screamed, flinging my arms about and summoning a pot from the kitchen, which I beat with Cathal.

"Don't eat the paopu, Enya, my cat slept on it," Riku moaned, flipping over and covering his head with the pillow. Oh, this was just too good. I banished the pot and re-sheathed Cathal, jumping down to where I was eye level with him.

"Riku," I breathed, watching his eyes flutter weakly open, "did you say something about me and a paopu?"

Riku's brow furrowed in sleepy confusion for a moment, then his eyes popped open and he scooted back against the wall, pillow now clutched to his chest in fear. I began to crawl toward him across the bed on my hands and knees, a sly smile gracing my face.

"Tickle fight!" I bellowed, launching a surprise attack on Riku. He began to laugh involuntarily, trying to push me off with his legs, but it was no use, as I, the undisputed tickle fight champion of all Traverse Town, straddled him and began to poke his most tickly spots. Wait, how did I remember his tickle spots? I apparently wondered out loud, because Riku, who had been temporarily released from my assault by my distraction, answered me.

"Hey! You're right! You must be getting more of your memories back!" he cried, then, realizing I was on top of him, pushed me off rather rudely and sat up.

"Hmm, this is true. I even remember what a paopu fruit was," I grinned, sitting up myself and looking at him. Instantly, I had his whole attention.

"Did you remember anything else about the paopu fruit?" he asked, his gaze far too intense. I blushed, glancing sideways.

"Not really, and why are you so eager? Say...we didn't perhaps _share_ one of these fabled fruits, did we?"

"No," he said, stubbornly, "you stole it from me while I was bringing it to Sora for him to use with Kairi."

Then how did a cat factor into all of these shenanigans?

"Well," I said, ignoring him, "that would explain how you ended up here, of all places. If we actually did share the paopu, I mean."

Riku gave me a weak smile, then proceeded to get up and walk to the window, looking outside.

"Say, it's awfully early, why'd you even wake me up?" he asked.

"Because," I answered, slowly getting of the bed and stretching like a cat, "we have to go to Traverse Town today; Maleficent's orders. Apparently, you're too dark and gloomy for this haven of rainbows and butterflies."

Riku laughed. I had missed that laugh in the two days that I hadn't been around to hear it. Maleficent's errands usually took all day, and by the time I was back, he had already gone to bed. I frowned. Everything was still too natural for the amount of memories that I had. Maybe it was because even though my mind may have forgotten, my heart had not. Well, that was kind of obvious, since it had stolen my memories back in the first place. I frowned.

"Enya," Riku called, waving a hand in front of my eyes, "c'mon, sleepy head! It looks like I'm not the only lifeless hobo around here anymore."

I gave him a strange look, wondering how he had known what I had dubbed him when he was obviously asleep, but shook it off and summoned a dark portal with my left hand. I winced as I felt a numbing sensation come from the pendant that contained my heart. Riku was too engrossed in the portal to notice, surprise visible on his features.

"That's a new trick," he observed.

I smirked, grabbing his collar and dragging him through before he could marvel how tall I'd grown since pre-school. He needed to get up to speed, and fast.

~0o0~

Riku and I crouched on the balcony outside of the room I had once shared with Yuffie, both cautiously observing the dark blue door that Yuffie and I had painted one long, boring summer. I fought for control over my emotions as I remembered the look on her face when Maleficent's disembodied hand had come from a dark portal, taking me without a word. We had been alone, and I hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye. Suddenly, we heard the sound of Yuffie waking up, yawning, and rolling out of bed. Seconds later, we heard a door open and shut.

"That's my cue," I whispered, "You stay here, I've got to go quickly."

I slipped inside without waiting for an answer, silently running to the closet in the corner and throwing it open. Eyebrows furrowed, I noticed that my clothes weren't there. I shuffled through the whole closet, looking for them, but to no avail. Suddenly, I heard Yuffie's lazy footsteps returning to the door, her yawn echoing throughout the hallway. I blanched, barely having enough time to jump into the closet myself., closing the door hastily shut behind me. Yuffie entered the room, not pausing before throwing herself back on the bed. Not two minutes later, her snores were once more filling the room. I shook my head, holding back a smile. She always had hated mornings. I slipped out of the closet, noticing a small treasure chest in the corner of the room. I walked over and opened it. Inside lay my clothes.

I glanced over at Yuffie, who was fast asleep, noticing some type of book under her hand. Curiously, I went over and peeked at the book, which turned out to be a photo album. I realized with a jolt that the photos were of us, together. Fighting, eating, pulling pranks, painting the door that one summer...it was all there. I restrained the urge to lean down and shake her awake, telling her that I was here, and that she didn't have to worry anymore. But I couldn't. Because if I did that, then I would still have to go back to Hollow Bastion, and I wouldn't know the next time I would come back, if ever. I could only cause more pain. In the next room, I heard Leon begin to stir. He had already seen me once, and that was too much, so I shoved the clothes from the chest into the small satchel I had brought especially for this occasion.

Sparing only one more glance at Yuffie, I hurriedly scribbled down a note on a scrap sheet of paper, hoping that it would at least soothe some of the pain. Then I was gone, out the door to the balcony, grabbing Riku's hand and creating a dark portal to get us back to the gummi ship I had left. However, when the portal was created, a sharp pain came from the locket as I felt darkness begin to seep in. Riku looked at me in alarm, but I re-took his hand and pulled him through the portal to where the gummi ship was waiting.

Hours later, the great ninja Yuffie awoke to see Enya's treasure chest plundered and a lone scrap of paper on the table. She grabbed the scrap of paper, scanning its contents quickly, then punching the wall in rage, letting out a cry of anger (and pain; walls hurt). The note read something like this:

_Dear Yuffie,_

_I'm sorry for leaving without a word; it couldn't be helped. I'll most likely never come back. Please know that it wasn't your fault, and that I'm happy where I am now. Please send everyone my love. Try to tell Hansel and Chantal to move on, like I have. Know that all of this is the way it should be. I miss you every day._

_Goodbye,_

_Enya_

~0o0~

"Enya, would you answer my question already?" Riku ordered loudly, making me jump at the controls. I had been too zoned out to hear him call my name, apparently.

"What?" I asked, zooming past the heartless' ships without harm, since we were riding in one of their own vessels. However, that didn't mean that I didn't hit things occasionally. Like hoops and asteroids... (etc.)

"Are you alright?" he said with the manner of someone who has been made to say the same thing too many times in the row. I merely nodded, concentration never leaving the warp hole we were about to go through. I had missed them before, so my complete attention was focused on the spinning warp hole. There was a bright flash, and we were transported to a pathway leading to Hollow Bastion.

Riku huffed, obviously not having a fun time with the weapon controls, since they weren't really needed. He also seemed like he didn't like the nod that he had gotten, since it meant next to nothing. It didn't matter, though. I was too absorbed in my own thoughts, barely even paying attention as I landed the ship in Hollow Bastion and we disembarked. When taking my first step out of the ship, however, the exhaustion from the past two day's work, which mostly concerned me due to all of the interplanetary travel via Corridors of Darkness, finally took hold of me (probably since the hyper state my mind was in while in a gummi ship was taken away), and I stumbled out onto the Rising falls, landing face-first onto the stone platform below.

"Enya!" Riku cried, hopping down after me only to see me struggling to get up, panting with exertion. I cringed and curled into a little ball when another wave of pain came from the pedant. Slowly, I felt my world slipping into darkness as Riku called my name again, more softly this time. As I fell asleep, I felt myself being lifted and carried away by someone very warm and cozy...

**So that's it. 0.0 For now...mwahahaha! Chapter five is still undergoing some minor changes, but it should be up soon enough. I'm not below begging for reviews, so I suppose now would be the time to do so. PLEASE, OH PLEASE, OH PLEASE. I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF YOU GUYS LIKE IT OR NOT. The torture...T.T Anywho, have a splendid day! :D**

**-Miriflowers**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hello again! I'm updating once again because I feel guilty for the camp that I went to. WON'T HAPPEN THAT OFTEN, FOLKS. Ahem. So, I've been trying to play my highly-damaged copy of KH2, which isn't going so swell. But at least there's always the manga! ...ANYWAYS, please, please, pretty please review? I know I'm not special, but even one little review makes my day.**

**P.S. This chap's for Reownastormcrow. I hope you don't die!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own this masterpiece that the gods have dubbed Kingdom Hearts. I only own Enya, etc. Woo?**

**Chapter 5**

The next day, I awoke in my own bed, surprisingly. I threw aside my sheets and sat up, only to have a wet cloth that I hadn't noticed slip off my head and fall into my lap. I looked around curiously, squinting blindly as the soft, early morning sun hit my eyes. When I finally grew used to the light, which took longer than it usually did, I saw Riku sitting hunched over in a chair next to me, breathing irregularly in his sleep. His face held an innocence that his waking face had never shown, and I felt for him and the pain that always seemed to follow.

My eyes softened, and I felt my hand move involuntarily to Riku's face, brushing away the silvery hair that had fallen in his eyes. His face twitched, but otherwise, he didn't wake up. I was almost glad. I waited, wanting him to bounce up like he used to when he, Sora, and I used to fall asleep on the beach, yelling at us both to wake up before our moms noticed we had never come home. They always did, notice, of course. It all ended once Kairi came, since she always had to go home first, and it wasn't the same without her.

Suddenly, my hand flinched back from Riku's face, and I stared at it. How had I just remembered all of that? I picked up my pendant, looking at it suspiciously. I shrugged and got up out of bed, then looked once more at Riku hunched over uncomfortably in the chair. I huffed, cursing him for being so oddly considerate, then hooking my elbows underneath his arms and dragging him the whole two inches to my bed, lowering him slowly. I rolled my eyes as he curled up into the blankets without waking up and left him to sleep.

"Well, well, it looks like someone had a rough night," Maleficent crooned as I stepped into the library, where she always was in the mornings while waiting to give me my assignment for the day. I scoffed at her and sat down in the high chair by the window, propping my feet up on the table and crossing them exactly the way she disliked.

"What's my assignment then? I don't have all day, unlike you, you old hag," I snapped, not feeling in the mood for her mind games that particular morning. Maleficent merely laughed, furthering my anger.

"Nothing special, for today. Follow the keyblade wielder and the king's lackeys around. You can even talk to them all you want, but you have to sick a heartless on them in the end," she drawled lazily, petting that same damn bird on her shoulder. I scowled.

"Can't you just watch them from your crystal ball, or whatever you evil sorceresses do to invade people's privacy," I said, feeling miserable for befriending people only to betray them.

"I don't have time to sit around all day," the old hag snapped, "I have places to conquer, people to control..."

I sighed irritably and opened a Corridor of Darkness with my left hand, not bothering with the gummi ship (I honestly drove them _quite_ horribly). I hopped off the chair and moved to go through the portal, tying to ignore the searing pain from the pendant. It obviously didn't work, since I gasped and clutched at it in pain.

"Be careful, my dear," Maleficent whispered, almost to herself, as I slipped into the darkness, "just because I control your heart, it doesn't mean that you're immune to the darkness consuming you."

~0o0~

I stepped out of the portal into Wonderland, breathing in the heady smell of roses and grass and wondering if Hollow Bastion really had any smell at all. I felt my eyes wander around, quickly passing over the startled guard that guarded a passageway to what looked like a forest. I quickly walked through the heart-shaped archway and into a courtyard (no pun intended) where the Queen of Hearts sat with several cards and a small white rabbit on a raised wooden tower.

As the natives demanded who I was and what was my business in Wonderland, my lazy gaze settled on three figures that didn't quite look like they were in Kansas anymore. One looked human, although with his unnaturally spiky brown hair, cheerfully determined blue eyes (not the same shade as Riku's, though), and odd appearance, it was harder than usual to tell. Another had somewhat the appearance of a dog while the last was most certainly a duck. I hated both types of creatures. One was only good for slobber and other excretions while the other...what was the purpose of a duck, anyways?

"Hey, Sora," I said lazily, eyeing the duck suspiciously while I contemplated its use, "I see you've been making new friends."

"Wait," the boy who must've been Sora (well, he looked exactly like what I remembered of him) breathed, then perked up, yelling, "Enya!"

My eyes widened as he proceeded to launch himself at my for a flying tackle hug. It took everything to stop my instinct from sliding just a little to the left...

"Who else looks so devastatingly beautiful while having incomparable swordsmanship?" I asked, my voice muffled by his strange garb. I'd decided to hug the little ball of energy back.

"I can't believe it! I never thought I'd see you again after Riku came back to Kairi and I crying his little eyes out after you'd left," Sora snickered, having released me, as I blushed and avoided eye contact, "He's gonna be psyched when he finds out...and when we find him."

"You haven't seen him yet, have you?" I asked, finally putting things together. Sora's usually distracted gaze immediately snapped to me.

"You have?" he questioned, making my eyes widen yet again. Sora looked very, scarily close to a madman at that moment. _You would, too, if your world and friends had been scattered...oh, wait!_

"Yeah," I admitted, shrugging and deciding to tell him the whole story, "I just left him at Hollow Bastion. Actually, this isn't a pleasure cruise, I'm on orders from Maleficent to tail you."

Sora's eyes widened comically as his mouth curled into an odd, still slightly crazed smile while I finally noticed that the dog and duck (which I had concluded was indeed useless) duo were standing awkwardly and looking generally left out.

"Wait, who's Maleficent?" Sora finally had the sense to ask as I saluted and later winked conspiratorially around Sora at his newest pals, making the dog emit a rather odd noise that sounded like a yokel's expression and the duck quack in surprise (while blushing wildly, I might add). I giggled, asking Sora if he was going to introduce me to his friends. He merely sighed.

"We've got a lot to talk about," he groaned, face-palming as I looked up semi-innocently. The duck had fainted.

~0o0~

As we hopped about the forest that I had seen earlier (which I learned was the Lotus Forest), with a few visits from the old Cheshire Cat himself, whom I artfully greeted (choking on words in embarrassment here meaning artful), the whole story came out. I was still having trouble processing, and, apparently, so was Sora, but we had to continue on the crusade for clues to save Alice, as I learned her name to be. Finding most of the clues was easy, except for the very last one. Someone had to jump across from the spigot to the cabinet-like thing, and I wasn't about to do it (height was a no-go for me). So Sora had to put on his big boy pants and take the leap.

"Alright, here I go!" he cried cheerfully, taking a running jump (with what little room he had). The dog (Goofy), the duck (Donald), and I (Eny-...never mind) watched as he hurdled through the air towards his destination. We all held our breaths as he began to fall short. Then, suddenly, one of Sora's pinwheeling hands hit pay dirt, and he pulled himself up. He leaned down, picking up the small box and brandished it proudly. His cronies began to applaud (with another yokel sound from the dog) and I actually cracked a smile.

"Well, look what you've found," came the unmistakable voice of the Cheshire Cat, "nice going."

"How about when you show up whenever there's nothing to be done," I said, quickly, "not as nice, huh?"

"Now we can save Alice!" cried Sora, as happily, blissfully ignorant as ever. I shook my head sadly.

"Don't be so sure. She may be innocent, but what about you?" the Cheshire Cat asked. I could've sworn that those words were directed at me. I looked away in shame, probably blushing. I really felt guilty at times like these.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked innocently. I wondered if he would ever grow up.

"I won't tell," the Cheshire Cat grinned, making me face palm, "But I'll give you something."

Suddenly, Sora was surrounded by snowflakes, and the cat was gone. What an odd cat. I shook my head yet again while Sora danced around, using his new blizzard spell while Goofy and Donald followed him around trying to make him stop.

Later, after Sora's excitement had finally died down (and Donald's tail feathers were thawing), we all sat peacefully on a tall lily pad, looking down at the peaceful forest below us. We had decided to take a break after all of our searching and finally talk some more (although it would take lifetimes to make up for the time lost).

"So...that locket thing..." Sora ventured after a while, carefully avoiding my gaze, "d'you think the keyblade could unlock it? I mean, Donald and Goofy said it can unlock everything..."

I shook my head wearily, smiling a bit at Sora's never-ending kindness. He always looked out for other's happiness before his own, and that was one of the things that had endeared him to me as one of my all-time best friends ever. The dog and duck, however, were still at sub-being level.

"Sora," I said, softly breaking the news to him, "even if you could, which I have don't doubt, this locket is linked to my mother. I will never be free, plain and simple."

Sora opened his mouth defiantly, head whipping around. He paused as I waited for him to say something, but the something never came. He merely shook his head in defeat, groaning and letting his head drop into his hands.

"What a lousy keyblade wielder I am. I can't even help a friend be released from darkness," he muttered, kicking a nearby lily pad in anger. Donald and Goofy looked curiously at him, as though unsure as to what would happen.

"C'mon guys," I said, making a Corridor of Darkness appear on the wall with my right hand, "let's blow this popsicle stand. Alice won't wait forever, y'know."

Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked on in awe as I motioned for them to step through the portal. I began to tap my foot in impatience. Corridors of Darkness weren't just for decoration, and they took a lot of work to keep open.

"Well?" I asked, snapping the trio out of their reverie. Sora was the first one through, cheerfully acting like a hero, even though he wasn't...yet. I shoved the dog and duck through, not waiting for another dramatic entrance, then hopped through myself.

On the other side, the Queen of Hearts gave us an odd look, but did not comment. I knocked Sora, who had been standing stock-still, and he presented the evidence. I spaced out as the queen began to yell, and Sora stepped forward to pick a box. The rabbit had my full attention as he shook with fear, his pocket watch clutched in his tiny paws in fear. I chuckled evilly until the chuckle grew into a full-fledged cackle of unrestrained, slightly sadistic glee. I clutched my stomach, still heaving from the laugh. The image of that poor, frightened white rabbit had been burned into my retinas. I saw that everyone was staring, but I was used to it.

"Carry on, good chaps," I said, blithely waving Sora on to finish picking. It was then I realized that I had been stuck with the dog and the duck in a witness pedestal. I sighed, using the duck to prop myself up. Sora looked like he was having a fit trying to decide. As the duck was protesting, I sighed.

"Pick the one on the far left, already. Sheesh," I called out to Sora, beginning to mutter to myself. Sora looked tentative, then picked the box I had suggested. Instantly, a soldier heartless popped out and ran away.

"What was that?" the queen gasped as I chuckled. Then, Sora had showed some style and talked back. At least, that's what I thought until the pedestal I was on crashed back into the floor, sending me face-first into a rosebush. When I looked up, a tower had appeared, and Alice had been hoisted into the air. _Not good._

"Get them, you fools!" cried the queen, and I dashed over to Sora as the cards began to close in.

"I'll get these punks, you destroy the tower," I shouted behind my shoulder, unsheathing Cathal, "Donald, Goofy, you guys with me?"

"You bet," Goofy "ahyuck"-ed, Donald nodding by his side. I grinned, jumping up into the air and landing my sword in the midst of a big group of cards, dark energy releasing from the point of contact and throwing them away. I looked back at Sora, who was making progress, hacking away at the blasted tower. I ripped through card after card, leaving them dazed, then moving onto the next one. It went on like this for a while, and, somewhere in the midst of fighting all the cards, I felt that…_something_ was in the Bizarre Room.

_Crack!_

My head whipped back to see the tower in shambles, and Alice's cage plummeted to the ground. I held my breath as the curtain slid aside to reveal...nothing. _Damn heartless._ As Sora and company went to go talk to the queen about Alice's disappearance, I decided to make my graceful exit. Something was afoot, and I was going to find out exactly what the darkness was coming from the Bizarre Room.

**But you know what they say…curiosity killed the cat. Mwahahahaha…Get ready for Chappie #6, cuz it's not going to be very kind to Enya. At all. In fact, most of this whole story's not kind to Enya. Except for Riku. (I'm a hopeless romantic, at heart.) Anyways, I notice that I've been getting some story alerts, but not many reviews. T.T Oh well. Also, RIDDLE ME THIS, BATMAN. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE…OF A DUCK? I never once knew.**

**-Miriflowers**


	7. Chapter 6

**I'm so very pleased that I managed to write this in no more than two, count 'em, TWO DAYS. I RAWK. Editing took a long time, but whatcha gonna do? Anywho, just so's ya know, I'll be getting more into character development soon. I had to put it off a bit for plot. ^.^; For me, it's one or the other, since I haven't quite got the hang of them both yet. But I have plans…ohoho, yes, I have plans… Also, thanks again to reownastormcrow for reviewing again. Glad you liked it!**

**Disclaimer: [insert joke about how I don't own KH and how poor I am here]**

**Chapter 6**

My footsteps echoed softly in the impossibly silent room that menaced above me, teasing with its gigantic size. I wished that I was at a normal height. Honestly, being a gnome wasn't all that fun, and I didn't even get the pointy red hat as a consolation prize. I stopped around a foot from the table, analyzing my surroundings. There were a few heartless around, but, strangely, they were ignoring me. Curiously, I slashed at one, watching it fade as a small heart rose up towards the high ceiling and disappeared. The other heartless continued to float around, completely ignoring me. Suddenly, I turned and poked a nonplussed-looking Shadow, only to have it shy away and scamper behind a nearby Red Nocturne. What was up with these heartless? Then, a strange feeling came over me, and I felt the darkness I had noticed earlier grow impossibly strong.

"So you're finally starting to notice that they're not quite reacting like they used to," crooned a devastatingly familiar voice from behind me, "you poor thing."

I whirled, feeling hatred filling every inch of my lanky body as Maleficent strode forward in all her sickening glory. I did not re-sheath Cathal; the old hag could never be trusted.

"Come, now, let's play nicely," she mocked, "besides, since you have neglected to do your work, it seems as though I have to do it for you."

Maleficent's gaze traveled up to the ceiling, making mine follow almost instinctively. We looked on as Sora, standing quite comfortably on the ceiling, lit one of the flowered lamps above. I winced and shaded my eyes as the sudden burst of light enveloped us. Maleficent began to shroud herself in darkness, but not before the pointed her staff at an unspecified open space behind me, darkness beginning to ooze out of it

"Remember, my dear," Maleficent's voice hissed as her staff lowered once more and she faded into a puddle of darkness, "the brighter the light, the darker the shadow…"

In a last ditch attempt to save Sora from having to fight a heartless, I threw myself forward towards the dwindling patch of darkness, only to make a spectacular face plant into the linoleum. Groaning as I rubbed my aching nose, I looked up, only to see Sora light the next lamp, feeling my skin beginning to burn from exposure to the light. _What are you doing, stupid? _

Suddenly, I heard a scuffling noise behind me and turned to see a gigantic Trickmaster forming beside the nearby table. Unfortunately, I couldn't do anything about it as my exposed skin was beginning to sizzle. It was the first time in my life that I was smoking hot. _Literally._ It wasn't as nice a sensation as I thought it would be, either, and it felt like I was being slow-roasted on a spit over an open fire. I only needed an apple in my mouth, and the image of a suckling pig would be complete. Covering my face with my arms and letting my sword fall to the ground, and I ducked under the fireplace, feeling a cool sensation spread across my skin once more. Almost like that time Riku had dunked Sora and me in the water when we were eight in the Destiny Islands. My heart ached at the thought, and I buried my head into my knees, trying to block out everything that was happening. I didn't want to let Sora get hurt, but what could I do? I had even dropped Cathal in my haste to get away from the piercing light. Not to mention the tiny little fact that I was most probably injured…

Outside, the heartless Maleficent had summoned reached a terrifying height, for midgets, that is. I looked guiltily on as the heartless saw the Cheshire Cat (who had just made an appearance) glared at the menace, causing it to fade into the darkness. Just before Sora, who I had strangely been able to sense coming, arrived, the psychotic cat struck a questionable pose. While I was busy thinking of why he would ever strike a pose like that with Sora coming, even if he was twisted, the said boy arrived and climbed up onto the table. They began speaking, but I couldn't hear word. I leaned forward, only catching a few muffled syllables before I succeeded in burning my nose as it was put out into the brightly lit room.

"…too late!"

Suddenly, the cat disappeared, leaving Sora looking bewildered. With the Cheshire Cat gone, Maleficent's mutated creation popped back out of the ground an began to attack with…bowling pins? Maleficent had reached an all-time low with her choice of underling. Apparently, Sora and his pals hadn't seen a heartless even juggle, either, since they froze for a minute in awe and confusion before scrambling to attention. However, the Trickmaster (that was its name, I recalled) did not wait, sweeping them off the table before they could completely get their bearings, sending them flying onto the ground. Luckily for them, they floated harmlessly to the floor before the stomping menace came their way.

"Incoming!" I yelled as the heartless swung at them with its bowling pins, causing them to duck. Sora's head whipped around to look in my direction before stumbling over to help Goofy and Donald attack as best they could from the ground. I groaned. They'd never get far this way.

"Hurry! Get up on the table!" I cried, feeling more useless with every passing minute. Pausing only to block one of the bowling pins while Donald and Goofy made their way, Sora began to climb up the chair and grab onto the table's edge, flipping himself up on top. Just as the Trickmaster was about to sweep them off yet again, Sora performed a truly impressive jump, hacking and slashing at its head and causing it to slump to its feet, temporarily knocked out. Sora did not waste a minute in hopping down and bashing away at the heartless' many heads, since he knew they would not be out for long.

The battle went on like this for a while until one of the Trickmaster's clubs finally hit Donald, causing him to pass out. Sora cried out in surprise and anger, blasting the heartless back with a quick blizzard spell before running to his friend's aid. Unfortunately for Sora, the spell merely hindered the heartless, and got up to attack once again and by now he was too busy to notice. I called out in vain, realizing that Sora wouldn't ever leave his friend, except if forced.

It was then that I decided to do something very, very stupid. Pulling down my cloak's hood as far as I could and pulling the billowing fabric around my arms tightly, I raced forwards past Sora and Goofy, who were both at Donald's side, and towards my target, scooping up my fallen sword on the way. Launching myself into the air, I raised the recently-recovered weapon and brought it down with all my strength, slicing the Trickmaster in two and leaving a sizeable indention on the floor beneath. As the heartless faded away to nothing, leaving only a drifting heart behind, I crawled underneath the table, hoping for some reprieve from the light.

"Enya!" Sora cried, rising from Donald'side and pausing, looking back and forth, obviously torn between his two friends. (I was a friend, right?) I heaved a dry laugh and made a Corridor of Darkness underneath me, feeling a sharp pain from the pendant. Not a good idea, apparently.

"Don't worry about it," I said as robustly as I could, waving a free and burning hand carelessly, "I'll just let Riku kiss the boo-boo and make it all better."

"Enya!" he cried once more, taking a step towards me, only to be stopped by a sleepy voice from the door-that-was-not-to-be-used.

"What a racket! How's a doorknob to get any sleep?" I heard the doorknob say as though he were a long ways away, sinking into the darkness with a slight feeling of comfort. I realized later that it was really the same feeling that people get when coming home.

~0o0~

I was sitting at a booth in an old-fashioned ice cream shop while Kairi and Mini Me sat by the window, licking their Sea Salt ice creams happily while singing sea shanties. I idly wondered how many songs they knew about the seven seas and the woes of pirates as I examined a blue spot on the counter where someone's ice cream had dripped.

"Hey, Doc," Enya called to the guy working the counter, whom I remembered as the man who had taken care of me during my stay in the Destiny Islands, surprising me from my brooding session, "d'you know where Riku and Sora are? They were supposed to have met us at the beach half an hour ago, but they never showed."

"I cannae say that I have, lassie," said the man in a thick Irish brogue to go along with his light red hair, "but I did happen to hear of 'em from old man Donahue down at de post office, a tellin' meh that they went out for a wee bit to do a chore for 'im."

I burst out in laughter, banging my fist on the table. That man was obviously no doctor, like Mini Me had called him, and it was questionable as to whether he could even speak proper English. But maybe that was just my memory speaking…

"But shouldn't they have been back by-" Kairi began to say, but was interrupted by the door bursting open and two panting little boys tumbling through. Everyone's attention, including my own, was diverted to the scuffling boys who were just now righting themselves, picking up two fallen boxes from the floor. The question as to where the two boys were was obviously answered.

"Oh," said an highly surprised-looking Sora, "hi, guys. We thought you were still down at the beach."

"Sheah, right, like I'm gonna sit there burning my ass of in the su-" Mini Me began before she was interrupted by Doc.

"Mind yer language, lassie," he scolded, shaking the towel he was using to clean off the counters with in her direction, "no self-respectin' man would e'er marry a girl with the mouth of a sailor."

The whole room burst into giggles, courtesy of Sora, Riku, and Kairi, while Mini Me sat, turning a brilliant shade of fushia.

"I dunno, Doc," Sora said, still snickering, "Riku said that he likes 'em fiery."

"Shut up, stupid," Riku said, immediately stopping his chuckles and smacking Sora's arm, trying to hide the face that he, too, was beginning to blush. Doc and Kairi roared with laughter as Mini Me tried to sink even lower into her seat. I giggled from my seat and propped my feet up on the table. This show had just gotten all the more interesting.

"Anyways," Sora said as the laughter died down, "we've still got one last package to deliver for Mr. Donahue before we can go back to the beach."

"Little late for that plan, bud," Mini Me said, having recovered, shaking her half-eaten ice cream at him, "That train's already left the station."

"C'mon, Enya, we haven't been yet. Plus, this was all so that Sora and I would have money to buy us all ice cream afterwards," Riku said, placing his package on the counter, "Right, Doc?"

Doc wasted no time in ripping open the package gleefully, taking out a couple of ice creams from underneath the counter and throwing them at Riku and Sora simultaneously.

"Well, Mr. Package here says yes, laddie," he chuckled, walking into the freezer and putting the box on a shelf, "and those are on de house for all a de, eh…hard work you've done today."

"Sweet," Sora exclaimed, immediately ripping his open and taking a bite, leaving his package on a nearby table, forgotten.

"Watch out, Sora, don't eat it all at once," Riku warned, taking a tentative lick of his own. He soon proved to be the wiser as Sora ran around the room, yelling about his brain freeze. Kairi giggled as Mini Me rolled her eyes, turning to Riku.

"Where does the last package go to?" she asked, propping her feet up on the table in much the same way as I did. I hesitantly brought mine down again, embarrassed to see my habit in action.

"Cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, cold-"

"Mayor's house," he said simply, still nibbling contentedly on his ice cream and watching Sora race around the room wildly.

"-cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, cold-"

"Sweet, we can stop by and get a few towels from Kairi's room," she said, following Sora's path around the room with her eyes as he began to slow down gradually.

"-cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, cold…cold-"

"Hey, I thought you said you'd brought your own towel," Kairi interjected, tearing her eyes off Sora for a second before letting them wander back again. He was definitely slowing, now.

"-cold…cold…cold…"

"Meh. So, I lied," Mini Me shrugged, but by now all three's attention was on the fourth, who had now stopped, panting for breath.

"Guess we'd better get going, then," Riku said, peeling his back off the wall, since his sweaty back had stuck to it, and ripping the last bit of Sea Salt ice cream of with his teeth, swallowing slowly, unlike his unlucky companion. He turned back, holding his hand out for Mini Me's popsicle stick, which she passed to his without a second glance. Kairi, noticing this, huffed and threw hers at the back of Riku's head, where it stuck. Not noticing the dew addition to his hairdo, Riku turned and picked up Sora's package, holding the door open for the others to follow.

"You might wanna cut your hair sometime soon," Mini Me said as she stood to leave, grinning a tad evilly as Riku's had automatically flew to the back of his head. His expression changed into a slightly disgusted one as he pulled out the popsicle stick and threw it into the nearby trash can.

"Thanks a lot, Kairi," Riku said sarcastically as Mini Me and Kairi giggled when they passed, "Sora, hurry up and finish, we're leaving"

Sora whirled around, ripping the large chunk of his ice cream left off the stick, tossing it into the bin, and racing to follow after Kairi (and Mini Me, presumably), beginning to scream once more about things of the chilly persuasion as he swallowed. I got up to follow, but the scene was already fading.

"See you later, Doc," Riku said, letting the door swing closed as I desperately tried to follow. I didn't want to leave just yet!

"Aye, laddie, I have no doubts about that 'un," Doc called back to the empty room, his words echoing through my ears as I was whisked away.

~0o0~

I groaned, cracking my eyes open a bit and wincing at the sudden intake of light. I was lying on a cold, stony floor, and my back wasn't feeling particularly cooperative, but…

"You're awake!" a joyful voice whispered from above, and my eyes rolled to get a better look at who was supporting my head on their knees. Riku's silvery-white hair hung gown in a curtain, making me glad that he'd never cut it.

"Ah, finally, our own little sleeping beauty has come back to us," came a distinctly sarcastic and peeved voice from somewhere to my left. My head rolled over in Riku's lap, and I groaned as Maleficent's green eyes stared back.

"Can't," I choked out, pushing myself into a sitting position with Riku's help, "get rid…of me…that easy."

The old hag's echoing laughter filled the Castle Chapel, where I had a sinking suspicion I had been transported back to. I felt Riku's arms help me to my feet and help me to continue standing, and I wondered if I could've done it without him.

"Funny," Maleficent hissed, "and here I was thinking that you were a fool who disobeyed direct orders and sabotaged a whole mission after giving away precious information to the enemy. That gives me a pretty good reason to."

"Sora may be your enemy, you witch, but he's my friend," I countered, wincing as I felt Riku unconsciously squeeze my shoulder a little tightly, and I could tell it was getting to him.

"You fool," she hissed, her eyes glowing even brighter in the dark, "you've forgotten your place. You are only my servant; you _have_ no other affiliations unless I tell you to."

"On the contrary," I laughed vindictively, shrugging off Riku's death grip and staggering forward, "I seem to have just remembered where they lie."

"**Silence!**" she bellowed, banging her staff on the floor, creating a miniature earthquake_. _Miniature here meaning that bricks fell down from the ceiling and sent me flying into a nearby wall. I heard screams, but I couldn't tell whether they were Riku's or my own. Not that I cared that much when I blacked out.

**Oh yeah. I'm finally updating. I'll have you know that it was the editing that got to me this time…but anyways, this won't be the longest fic ever to grace God's green earth. But there will be a rather nice sequel. 'Cuz that's the way I roll. Anywho, how'd you like Doc? I like Doc lots. I like everything about him. His accent, his hair, his personality. I want to write a story just about him. IS THIS LOVE? Speaking of which…I know I haven't developed Riku and Enya as much as I should…but…y'know…[insert excuse here]. She's very sick. Honest. Anyways, enough about my Great Aunt Eugenia's Pomeranian. She'll live past this jungle foot rot, I know it.**

**-Miriflowers**


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